Automatic gate for railway-crossings.



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WILLIAMNOVILLE, 0F CLEVELAND, OHIO.

AUTOMATIC GATE FOR RAILWAY-CBOSSINGS.

Specification of Letters latent.

Application filed April 8, 1911. Serial No. 619,682.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Winnaar NoviLLn, citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Automatic Gates forRailWay-Crossings, of which the following is a specification. v

. My invention relates to automatic gates for railway crossings, and is an improvement in the gate described and shown in my pending application, Serial Number 569,867, and the improvement consists in the construction of gate and its operating meansl substantially as herein shown and described and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

M'y object is to station a gate at the crossings of railways, steam or electric, and cause automatic lowering 'thereof upon the approach ,and passage of a car or train of cars. Obviously, such automatic lowering of a gate might in itself be dangerous, either by striking or trapping a person or vehicle at the crossing, and therefore myobject also is to provide a gate and operating means therefor which will Vreduce this danger to a minimum.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation and sectional View of my improved gate, and Fig. 2 is a diagram of an electrical railway and a trolley car, including the electrical connections leading therefrom tc the operating motor for the te.. Y ga s shown, the gate A is of the two-arm type having segment-gear engagement for co-joint operation and wherein the longer arm 2 is adapted to extend over the road or street and the short arm 3 over the side- Walk. The segment portions 4 of each arm are rotatably mounted within or upon a casing 5, and a counterweight 6 on an outside arm 7 with the axis 8 of the gate 2 serves as usual to counter-balance both the gate arms for ease of operation. These fea.- tures are old, but the gate as improved turther comprises a shouldered hinge connection 9 Lfor each arm 2 and 3, respectively,- the linge being on top to permit free and independent backfolding of the arms in respect to the segment portion 4. Thus, when the arms are being lowered and an object is encountered by either arm, no ill result-s will follow either to the object or to the mechanism for operating the arm.. Briefly,.

the arm will yield or come to a. standstill; whereas, the segmentl portions 4 and counterweighted arm 7 will be undisturbed in describing maximum arc movements. This 1s important for the reason that operations are dependent upon a power device represented herein as an electric motor 10 and which acts more or less rapidly when placed in an electric circuit. Thus, when the motor 10 is energized, rotation of its armature shaft 11 is immediate and complete to wind a cable 12 about a reel 14 on the shaft 11 and thereby lower the gate by a pall on a right angled bracket 15 which is secured to the segment portion 4 of the arm 3,-he are movement being relatively short as indicated by ull and dotted lines of the parts in Fig. 1. The lowered position is sustained for a. greater or less period of time, or in other words, the pull by the motor continuesv to hold the gate down until the train or car has passed the crossing and motor 10 again placed out of electric circuit. Then, 'counterweight 6 comes into action to raise the gates, unwinding the cable 12 from the reel 11 by this return movement.

A quicio-acting power device is of advantage if for no other reason than that direct and simplified operating connections may be made between thega tes and motor, thereby eliminating back gearing and the like; but obviously, if the gates are lowered too quickly, serious results might follow. Therefore, I hinge the arm of the gate to the segment. portions 4 and also providf` a device B to automatically control the speed of descent of the arm after the motor 10 has acted and performed its function and is at a standstill. This device B comprises an air cylinder 16 pivotallysecured .at its bottom end to a lug 17 on the casing 5, and having a piston or plunger 18 slidably confined therein with a stem 19 pivotally secured at 20 to the bottom of the arm 2 approximately oppositethe hinge connection 9. A valve 21 at the bottom end of cylinder 16 controls the exit of air from the cylinder whereby the speed of descent of the plunger'18 and arm 2 may be regulated. In operation, the segments -1- are rotated to their full extent by a comparatively quick action ofthe mo tor 10, whereas thearm 2 in this move ment is checked temporarily in its descent and is unfolded-the arm 2 and the seg- Patented Nov. 28, 1911.

'gate arm 3 may also be similarly provided with a checking device B, and that all the operating parts may be inclosed Within the casing The arm 3 may also be omitted altogether. Furthermore, any preferred and acceptable means maybe used for temporarily placing the motor 10 in an electrical circuit by a car or train ot cars passing over a given section of track at a crossing.

Either steam or electrical railways may be equipped with my improved gates, but in view of the need of such safeguards for cross-country electric lines, I show means particularly adapted for use with an electric trolleysystem. Thus referring to Firr.

2, a trolley car C is shownhaving a trolley- 2l engaged with a trolley wire The track represented by Q3, and a duplicate set of double switches or electric-circuit cstablishing devices D are arranged at separated points along the line-of the trolley wire Q2, one at either side of the crossing which may be assumed to be located at .fr-an The switches D are electricallyvconnected in parallel and are insulated from the trolley wire which is electrically connected with the motor l0 by a. Wire 24:. A

return wire 95 from the motor 10 connects with an armature 96 of a relay R, which when energized closes the return circuitover wires 2T and 2S leading to the rail Q3. rl`he relay l is energized when the trolley Wheel 29 contacts with a member 30 ot either switch D, the current from the trolle;v wire passing over line 3l1 through coils 32, and over return wires Qi' and QS to the rail. The car C is no on a section or block of track represented h v 23 and which section or block is insulated from the remainder of track. 'l`he ear itselt then establishes a circuit orer trolle \'\rire Q2. wire -l, armature El?, ot a second rela r S. wire Ill and coil 35 ot'A relai' ll. and thence to rail wire '29. This` establishes a closed circuit. for the motor l0 :is: long as the ear is in the section or block lli this means. the gates are immediatelr lon-ered and remain down until the trollo;l wheel '29 contacts with the member 2h? ol the switch D aud thereby establishesl atemp-.irant circuit over line wire 1li. coils 39 of relaf.' f". rail wirt' LN. and tbr--ne'h :i ground generator :and to the 'troll-cj `aire. '|`l... -...i.|\ f; Luinr linie 'vvul'ni'lfil l.:!' ill lll stant, its armature 33 is attracted and the circuit over the wire Q4 to the coils 35 of the lrelay R is interrupted, which releases the armature 26 and breaks the motor circuit over the return wire 27. Both relays are now dcnergized and the gates will be lifted by their counterweight G, the motor being out of circuit.

It must be understood that no damage to` motor l0 will occur after the gate is lowered, for the reason that a full-load start machine is used in which the armature continues to rotate after the shaft is stopped by overloada common type of motor. Obviously, the use of this type of motor is not arbitrary as any other suitable electrical power device may be used to operate the gate. Now, again referring to coils 35, these coils will not attract armature QG and close vthe operating circuit of the gates in the normal condition of the apparatus on account ofthe particular type of relay used. Thus t-he coil consists of many noninductive vturns of copper wire, therefore, not giving this coil the pulling strength on the armature to draw it over the relatively wide air-gap used. 0n the other hand the coil or winding which pulls the armature has many turns of copper wire or inductive windings,v giving the needed pulling, strength to attractthe armature. The same result may be obtained in other ways, and any suitable device and arrangement of circuits may be used to place the operating motor in and out of circuit .to close and open the gateswithout aiiecting the inver.- tion herein shcvn and claimed.

that I claim is:

1. In gates Ior railway-crossings, a joint.- cd arm t. mprising a rotatable member and an outerportion hinged thereto, means to lower said jointed arm, and means to temporaril)r retard descent of the. outer portion of said arm upon downward movement of the rotatable member.

Q. ln gates for railway-crossings, a jointed arm haring a rotatable support, a power device. to lower said arm. and a device to back-'fold and temporarily hold the outer jointed portion of the arm in raised position tor gravity descent upon rotatable movements of lsaid support.

3. ln gatesfor -railway-crossings, a counterweighted arm rotatably mounted and hinged to unfold during lowering 1novements thereof. a power device. to lower said arm. and a retarding device to temporarily maintain the hinged portion of said arm in upli't'ted position upon lowerii g movements of its rotatable portion. said device embodying means to etl'eet gradual gra rity-lowering ot' said hinged arm portion.

-l. ln gates tor rawily-crossings. a counterweighted 'arm cqnprising a rotatable inunda-r having an arm hinged thereto,Y a momaaaufn-ting -zzmiiiations to lower control its descent.

5. In gaies for railway-crossings, a set of geared members rotatably mounted and having arms pivotally connected therewith to fold and unfold, a counterweight for said arms, a motor operatively connected with said members to lower the same, and a. dashpot d vice for said arms to unfold and control lowering thereof.

6. In automatic gates for railway-crossings,.a.fjointed arm comprising a rotatable member and a hinged outer portion, a rert-arding and speed-controlling device to temporarily hold the said outer portion in vertically inclined position upon a. complete 'movement of said rotatable member, and power operativo means to operate said arm, in combination with means at. the crossings adapted to control operation of said power means by the passing o a railway-car.

7. In automatic gates for railway-crossings, `power operative means, devices ateither side of the crossing to control said means by the passing o railway cars, in combination with a gate comprising a rotatable member operatively connectedwith said power means, an arm hinged to said member, and a device connected. with said ar'm to back-fold and uplift said arm during maximum are movements of said rotatable member and comprising means to gradually permit a gravity drop of said arm to a horizontal position. l

8. In gates for railway-crossings, a count-- terweighted member having a gate-arm hinged thereto, means to rotate said member 'to lower said arm, and an air cylinder and plunger and a spring to unfold and contro Vsaid arm in its descent. i

In testimonv whereof I afx my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

WILLIAM NOVILLE. "Witnesses R. B. MOSER, H. T. FISHER. 

